Durant Days celebrates the birth of Great Camps Architecture
Schedule of Events
Durant Days August 2 – 4, 2019, Raquette Lake, NY
Durant Days celebrates the birth of Great Camps Architecture. Enjoy a special weekend of events in Raquette Lake. Harken back to the days when waterways were the highways and travel was by boat! And you can’t get there by car. Access to these four Great Camps and churches only available once a year, so don’t miss out on your exclusive chance to explore them all in one jam-packed weekend!
William West Durant left his mark permanently on the Adirondacks as a master designer and builder crafting impressive architectural masterpieces. Durant envisioned grandiose getaway homes and self-contained villages in the middle of the Adirondack wilderness. Through his revolutionary vision he was able to combine the architectural features of a traditional log cabin merged seamlessly with the long low lines of the graceful Swiss chalet to create a luxurious summer residence. From his first grand camp, Camp Pine Knot, sprang a distinctive school forever known as Great Camps Architecture and Raquette Lake is the place where it was born.
These grand camps of the wealthy in the Adirondacks attracted railroad titans, industrialists, admiring journalists and international guests to enjoy the wilds of the forest with the softer comforts of elegance and grace and touted as “the show places of the woods.”
Join us in Raquette Lake, NY the first weekend in August to transport yourself back to the Gilded Age and imagine yourself enjoying the opulence of the Adirondacks as a railroad titan. History buffs will be transported back in time.
Schedule of Events for Durant Days
Friday, August 2nd, 2019
Luncheon Boat Cruise exploring the 100 miles of shoreline of Raquette Lake with historic stops built and crafted by William West Durant. Stops at Great Camps including the original, Camp Pine Knot, and St. Williams on Long Point listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and the original village of Durant, NY. August 2, 2019 $69 pp inclusive of cruise, meal, tax, gratuity, guided tours. www.raquettelakenavigation.com
Saturday August 3, 2019
2:00-3:00 p.m. Wide Variety A Capella Group in concert. This New Jersey a capella group has been performing for years. Their popular set includes renditions of popular favorites from the 40s through the 00s, including music from the Beach Boys, Four Seasons, John Legend and many more. Free Concert at Saint Williams on Long Point, sponsored by St. Williams on Long Point, Central Adirondacks Association and the Town of Long Lake. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Free boat transportation from the village town dock.
6pm Boat Parade** NEW TIME for 2019. In the village. Boats all shapes and sizes compete. Runabouts, no-octane, party barges, if it floats, it’s a boat! Decorate boats and compete for prizes for Best Most Creative Boat in each boat class. The more the merrier! Everyone invited to play. On vacation? Be adventurous, rent a boat at Burke’s or Birds Marina’s and show us what you’ve got. Celebrate life on the waterways during the indefatigable Raquette Lake Boat Parade.
August 3, 2019 cont.
7:00pm. James Warren, Magician, Live at Saint Williams on Long Point. Boat Access only!
From the Magic Castle in Hollywood! With over two decades of amazing people across America with his magic, including 13 years of performances at The Magic Castle. This is the most mind-blowing magic show you’ll ever see. With magic sourced from the written legacy of the great masters of the art, James Warren’s show will have you astounded and amazed. This unique event will for the first time be at Saint Williams Long Point and is not to be missed! A very special event for the 2019 Durant Days Weekend.
Ticket price includes transportation by boat to Saint Williams
Reservations 315-291-4000
Tickets $20.00
9:00pm Fireworks Extravaganza. **After James Warren show concludes. A special weekend celebration continues with a Fireworks show celebrating all that is Raquette Lake. With so much history and legacy on the shores of Raquette Lake, launching fireworks is the culmination and celebration of the storied legacy of American history launched right from the shores of this small, tight-knit, historic community. Fireworks can be seen by boat from the village.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
10:00 am Guided tour of Great Camp Sagamore. Half-Price Admission.
Built in 1897 this former summer retreat of the Vanderbilt’s is on 1,526 acres of remote wilderness in the Adirondack Park. Great Camp Sagamore was a wilderness escape for the Vanderbilt family for half a century. It is now a National Historic Landmark.
Reservations not required for the tour. www.greatcampsagamore.org
3:00 pm Annual ecumenical vespers service at Church of the Good Shepherd, on Raquette Lake. Saint Huberts, built by William West Durant in 1880 was built to serve the owners, guests and employees that Durant was creating in the area. The island was originally named Bluff Island, but was later renamed in honor of Saint Hubert, the patron saint of hunters.
All events on St. Hubert’s Isle are free and open to the public. There will be a free water taxi 2pm – 2:45pm to/from St. Hubert’s Isle from the village dock, courtesy Burke’s Marina.
RLN returns $12 of every admission to Camp Pine Knot. Pine Knot is not usually open to the public. This is a special arrangement made available specifically for Durant Days. A donation is also made to St. Williams. If you haven’t been to Great Camp Sagamore, plan on returning Sunday for the 10 am 1/2 price guided tour of Great Camp Sagamore, the Alfred Vanderbilt estate www.greatcampsagamore.org
